That was Then, This is Noir

Any colour as long as it's Noir? The classic anime looks set to be getting the live-action treatment via cable network Starz...

Anime may be big, but live-action adaptations of anime may end up being bigger. Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris - who created Sleeper Cell - have just closed a deal to write the live-action adaptation of the 2001 Japanese anime series Noir for Starz. For those not familiar with the original, Noir features two female assassins who come together to fight a dangerous secret society, discovering that they actually share a secret connection. Will they discover what links them or will they kill each other first?

The project has had an interesting gestation with the original intent of a live-action adaptation being discussed last year as a project with Sam Raimi, Bob Tapert, Joshua Donen and Bill Hamm. Starz, becoming a significant player in the US cablesphere persisted in wanting to get the project motoring forward and the original writer Steven Lightfoot was replaced by Sean Jablonski late last year. The project may have been put on hold for a while, while Starz formualted the best plan, but as Deadline reports, this now seems to be seen as a priority for the company...

This news follows the annoucement that manga series Black Jack may also be heading to live-action television. Entertainment One has acquired the rights with plans to adapt the classic 1970/80s comic by Osamu Tezuka. Taka Ichise and Doug Davison, ( who worked on the western versions of The Ring and The Grudge) are down to executive produce...